Michigan Lands 4-Star Safety Kainoa Winston over Penn State, Oregon, UNC

Safety Kainoa Winston announced his commitment to play college football at the University of Michigan on Friday, according to ESPN's Eli Lederman.

Winston is rated as a 4-star prospect by 247Sports, as well as the No. 3 safety and No. 43 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.

Lederman noted that Winston chose the reigning national champions over Penn State, Oregon and North Carolina.

Winston, who stars at Gonzaga College High School in Washington D.C., went with Michigan instead of Penn State despite the fact that his cousin, Kevin Winston Jr., made 13 starts for the Nittany Lions last season.

The 2025 recruiting class is the first one tied entirely to new Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, who took over the job after Jim Harbaugh left to become head coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers on the heels of an undefeated season and national title in 2023.

Per 247Sports, Michigan is lagging behind some of the other college football powers in 2025 recruiting thus far, as the Wolverines' class ranks only 40th in the nation despite the addition of Winston.

Michigan has not yet landed a 5-star commitment for 2025, and Winston is the top player in the class, surpassing defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall, who is ranked 80th overall.

With Harbaugh at the helm, Michigan has won 12 or more games in each of the past three seasons.

The Wolverines won the Big Ten title each of those seasons, and they made three consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff as well.

After falling in the semifinals in both 2021 and 2022, the Wolverines put it all together last season, going a perfect 15-0 and beating both Alabama and Washington in the CFP en route to their first national title since 1997.

While Michigan still has a strong winning foundation to build upon, Moore will have his work cut out for him after 13 Michigan players were selected in the 2024 NFL draft, which was the most of any school.